What about the peppers?? They will not keep well in a root cellar. These are menat for onions, potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots, and many other root crops. Right now, is not a good time to plant much in a agrden as its getting late in the season. You can plant some items that are fast growing however. For the cellar, have a concrete block floor with sand as the 'grout' between each block. Make sure its very dark and dry there when closed up, and does offer a little ventilation. Wooden shelving is also nice, as would a small bench or two.

Sorry, I should have made it clear that I canned the banana peppers and the end result was that they were not crisp. I'm not sure what recipe I used. I remember that I sliced some and slashed others that I left whole. I was wondering if someone knew what I did or didn't do?
As for the cellar,it is finished. I like the bench suggestion. I'm old and it would be nice to sit.Thanks

The banana peppers are thin skinned and quite delicate. They are similar to the small green pepperoncini peppers you see in salad bars. I had tried all kinds of methods to can these and none that involved any heat of any kind just didn't work. You might want to try adding some Ball Pickle Crisp to each jar at filling time. Here, because of the same processing heat problems, I use a powerful vacuum pump to pull a vacuum on each jear to seal them. The peppers are all placed in large vacuum containers and are pierced with a skewer and the ful strength vinegar and pickling salt are added. The contents gets pumped down under vacuum which pulls out the air inside each pepper. After about five minutes, I vent and repeat the process and then fill pints or quares full of peppers and a fresh vinegar salt brine, then pump it down using the Food Saver adapter for canning jars. Because there is always going to be more bubbling, vent after 2 minutes, add a little brine, and pump again for 2 minutes, then top them off, add the lid, and pull the final vacuum. Each jar has been very crisp, even ones i canned two years ago are still as firm as ones you see in jars and stores. I would think this vacuum process would work, provided you had the right equipment. My pump is a dual diaphram and has 16 ounce moisture trap and guage, as well as being fitted with the FS vacuum accessory hose and its tip. The canisters I use are their big round 1 1/2 gallon size with valve and lid. This process I ue is ONLY for the delicate pepperoncini, and I feel is quite safe due to the full 5% vinegar and no water added. One have spoild yet and none have even lost the vacuum so far. The lids are on very tight and require a bit more removal leverage to open.